Get to October, or die trying by Jared Carrabis
Red Sox' season hangs in the balance of four-game series in Bronx


Win and live to fight another day. Lose and, well, you probably don’t want to hear about that scenario.

The Red Sox pack their bags at Fenway Park and head to Yankee Stadium for a four-game series that very well could determine the outcome of their season, a that has been a roller coaster ride with more downs than ups.

To their credit, despite having their number of players on the DL end up in double digits, the Red Sox have hung in there all season long, and have a golden opportunity to gain major ground on their divisional foes, the New York Yankees.

With the best record in baseball, the Yankees and other teams who have played well this season have not been the issue for Boston. The teams who the Red Sox should be clobbering have been the problem.

After their win over the Cleveland Indians on Thursday night to earn a four-game split, the Red Sox improved to 16-15 against the Indians, Orioles, Royals and Mariners. If Boston had gone 21-10 over those 31 games against the under .500 teams mentioned, the Sox would be just one game behind the Yankees in the standings.

However, it's not time to wonder what if. It's time to wonder how.

Boston general manager Theo Epstein described Kevin Youkilis as being "the heart and soul" of the Red Sox. The same could be said about Dustin Pedroia, and the Red Sox will be without both of them for this series, and Youkilis for the rest of the season.

If the team is the body, how does it operate without a heart? I'll tell you how. Lights out starting pitching. If this team is going to survive, they need to hit the Yankees at their strong point, their offense.

The Yankees already have a leg up on Boston by having home field advantage, but if the Red Sox starters can quiet the bats of the Bombers, it will also quiet the mouths of the fans.

After a quick glance at the standings, one might assume that the Yankees are above and beyond the better team over Boston, but not so fast.

The last time that these two teams met was back on May 18, a game in which the Red Sox beat the Yankees 7-6. Since that night in the Bronx, the Red Sox have gone 43-27, while the Yankees have gone 42-27. I'll bet you didn't even realize how evenly matched these two teams were this season.

Fans in the Bronx are looking at this series as a tune-up. They look at this series the same way they’d look at a series against the Baltimore Orioles. To them, the race for the division crown is between them, and the Rays and the "loser" will end up in October regardless as the Wild Card.

Try telling David Ortiz that.

"We always like playing against New York," said Ortiz. "It's a fun series. It's always great. Everyone is on top of their toes the whole nine innings or whatever we play. I like the challenge."

"You look at every series like that," continued Ortiz. "You want to win. You want to either come out even or win the series. You don't want to lose, you know? It doesn't matter who you play against. That's who you want to beat so you can count on being in October and playing ball – not watching it."

The pitching match-ups for this series certainly set the Red Sox up for success. Right, Mikey?

"There's going to be some good pitching match-ups in New York. I like our chances," said Mike Lowell on Thursday. "How can you not? We've got, what, Buch, Beckett, Lackey and Jonny? You can't ask for anything more. We've got the rotation healthy and it's going to be a good series."

Clay Buchholz will in fact take the ball on Friday night against Javier Vazquez to open the series. Buchholz tossed eight, two-hit innings against the Tigers in his last outing before running into some trouble in the ninth.

Saturday’s 4:10pm start will feature John Lackey versus CC Sabathia. With the exception of Derek Jeter, who hits Lackey at a .357 clip, the Yankees haven’t fared well against the big Texan. Robinson Cano (.231), Alex Rodriguez (.107), Nick Swisher (.116), and Brett Gardner (.250) haven’t had much success against Lackey, and with all hopes, their misfortunes will continue. Sabathia is 1-2 in his last three outings.

The two former Florida Marlins will square off on ESPN’s Sunday Night Baseball. Josh Beckett, who has been brilliant since returning from the disabled list, will take on AJ Burnett, who was shelled for eight runs in his most recent start against his former club, the Toronto Blue Jays. In Beckett’s last three starts, the right-hander is 2-0 with a 2.18 ERA.

In the series finale, Jon Lester will look to turn his second half around. Winless since the All Star break, the left-hander has been the victim of some on-field misfortunes. There is nothing mechanically wrong with Lester, according to Red Sox pitching coach John Farrell, and no injury to report of, according to manager Terry Francona. In his career versus the Yankees, Lester is 4-1 with a 4.01 ERA. The starter for New York has not been named for Monday’s 2:05pm matinee game.

Adrian Beltre just about summed things up when he said, "I think every game from now on is important. We've had injuries. We're six behind. This will be a big test, going to New York to play four, then Toronto and Texas. Hopefully when we get back home, we're closer than we are. The games against New York are huge."

-Jared Carrabis

What is your prediction for the Red Sox vs. Yankees series in the Bronx?

The Red Sox will sweep.The Red Sox will win one.The Red Sox will split.The Red Sox will take three.The Red Sox will get swept.

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Published on August 06, 2010

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